Generally, a pipeline system provides a continuous pipe conduit that includes a variety of components and equipment, e.g., valves, compressor stations, communications systems, and meters. A pipeline may be used to transport liquid or gaseous materials from one point to another, usually from one point (or points) of production or processing to another, or to points of use. For example, an air separation unit may be used to separate atmospheric air into gaseous components (e.g., oxygen gas (O2), nitrogen gas (N2), hydrogen gas (H2), Argon gas (Ar), etc.). At compressor stations, compressors maintain the pressure of the material in the pipeline as it is transported from one site to another. Similarly, for a liquid bearing pipeline, pumps may be used to introduce and maintain pressure for a liquid substance transported by the pipeline.
Running and maintaining a pipeline system can be expensive and complex, and the operations of a pipeline system are frequently coordinated and controlled from a central operations control center. At such a control center, an operator may monitor process data related to the operational state of the pipeline and each of its constituent elements using a SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system. Other complex industrial systems and processes use a similar approach. For example, a petroleum refinery (at one end of a pipeline) may be monitored from a central control center using a real-time status database configured to receive data collected from the field devices of the refinery. Similarly, chemical production or processing facilities, steel mills, manufacturing plants, assembly lines, etc., are frequently monitored using on a centralized operations control center.